This invention relates to pump dispensers. More specifically, this invention relates to pump dispensers in which a trigger works a pump and periodically opens a vent, permitting air from the outside into the container to replace displaced liquid.
The von Schuckmann patent U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,434 issued Feb. 18, 1997 discloses a pump dispenser having a trigger-type actuator having a rearward arm which vents the container when the trigger is drawn back. More specifically, the arm brushes a projection on a tubular liner which normally engages about the inside of the tubular support for the pump. The projection raises the line away from the wall of the support to partly uncover a vent opening.
The present invention may be regarded as an improvement on the invention shown in von Schuckmann ""484 in that it provides for a funnel-shaped vent seal which assures by its structure a reliable breaking of the seal at positions of the trigger and a reliable closing of the seal when the trigger is released.
The invention is, of course, described in the claim language below. Briefly, in a pump dispenser the present invention comprises a funnel-shaped vent seal which has a line contact with the inside of the pump body tubular support. The funnel-shaped vent seal includes a forward projection adapted to be engaged by a rearward arm on the trigger to permit air into the dispenser container.